


Who Gives This Woman

by mrstater



Category: Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Courtship, Epistolary, F/M, Humor, Marriage, Romance, betrothal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-10
Updated: 2011-05-10
Packaged: 2017-10-19 05:49:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/197623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrstater/pseuds/mrstater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The betrothal of Cazaril and Betriz sparks a flurry of correspondence between Valenda and Cardegoss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who Gives This Woman

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2011 April Flowers Challenge at the Chalion-Ibra LJ community.

Ser dy Ferrej,

It is my great pleasure to write to you that your daughter, my most trusted companion, the Lady Betriz, is just this day betrothed. She has done very well for herself, her intended being my newly-appointed Chancellor, and the man you knew as Castillar Lupe dy Cazaril. Long Betriz has loved him, and Cazaril her, though he thought himself so unworthy of her as to recommend himself to any girl's protective father, so I am confident that you will give your blessing to their union.

Iselle, Royina of Chalion-Ibra

P.S. If Lord dy Cazaril's age concerns you, know that the disparity of years appears greatly reduced now that his beard has been shorn.  
~*~

Dearest Papa,

I am betrothed! The Lord Chancellor dy Cazaril--for the other great news of the land is that Royina Iselle has made him Chancellor of all Chalion-Ibra--has asked for my hand.

No, that is not quite true. _I_ have been so bold as to ask for _his_ hand. Or rather, I asked Iselle to give me his hand as a boon, because while I was certain of Cazaril's love for me, his humility would not allow him to court me. Though I am sure that his exalted station would have emboldened him to eventually ask me to marry him. Maybe.

Caz is the very best of men, and I don't mean because his keen intellect and self-sacrificing valor broke the curse on Iselle's house and saved her kingdom. No one could treat me with more tenderness, or make me as happy as he has done. At least, I am happy now that he has finally gotten it into his skull that I love him and would wish to be his wife even if he were only a lowly kitchen hand in the Provincara's house. Before that, he was quite infuriating.

Please, give us your blessing, Papa.

I hope to come to you soon, so that you may see my happiness for yourself. Though Caz says my smile is so brilliant that he shouldn't be surprised to hear that you can see it all the way in Valenda, outshining the stars and sun.

It is well that he became a soldier rather than a poet, is it not?

Your devoted daughter,  
Betriz  
~*~

Respected Sir,

By now you will have received the Royina Iselle's letter announcing the betrothal of your daughter, the Lady Betriz, to me. It is with no small amount of chagrin that I submit to this protocol, for I would keep with tradition and request an interview with you to seek your daughter's hand. As the thing is done, I must content myself to seek your blessing upon our marriage, which I regard as a most precious blessing bestowed on me by the gods, and of which I shall strive to be worthy.

I know full well that I have nothing to give Lady Betriz which was not given to me, but all that I do have, is hers. If I am daunted by the task that lies before me as Chancellor of Chalion-Ibra, then I am doubly so by the enormity of being a husband and, gods willing, a father, and I pray the duties of the former shall never require the sacrifice of the latter. Though Lady Betriz assures me I am over-thinking the matter, and I suspect she is right, as she usually always is. (She reads over my shoulder and says that I am well on my way to being the perfect husband for admitting that she is always right. The only way I could be more perfect, she insists, is if I ceased to write poetry. But I cannot help myself, as your daughter is the sort of lady who inspires bad poetry. Which I mean as a compliment to her at my own expense, but I fear my giddiness at the present state in which I find myself has left me shamefully incoherent for a suitor, much less a chancellor, so I will now close, again expressing the hope that you will smile to call me son.)

Your humble servant,  
Lupe dy Cazaril  
~*~

Your Highness,

You do the house of dy Ferrej great honor in overseeing the betrothal of my daughter to your Lord Chancellor. Lady Betriz has benefitted greatly from her place as your companion, as well as from your friendship, and I trust that you would not have agreed to a betrothal to a man who would not make her a tender and faithful husband.

Congratulations on your own recent marriage. May the gods grant you a long and fruitful union.

Faithfully yours,  
Ser dy Ferrej  
~*~

My dear Iselle,

You may be Royina of all Chalion-Ibra, but you are still my granddaughter, so I will be forthright and say that it would behoove you not to wield some powers so lightly. Ser dy Ferrej is a gracious man and loves you as dearly as he loves his own daughter, so he accepts that you have not only acted within your rights but as a sister would in the interest of Betriz's happiness and security. But you have also deprived him of _his_ right to give his daughter--his only daughter--in marriage to a worthy suitor. And I suspect that Lord dy Cazaril feels much the same about asking a father for his daughter's hand.

That said, it is an excellent match for your friend, and thank the gods I did not give Cazaril a place in my kitchens.

Your loving  
Grandmama

P.S. Good work divesting him of that rat's nest of a beard.  
~*~

My beloved daughter,

You cannot be old enough to be married, can you? But then, you cannot be old enough to be lady-in-waiting to the Royina of Chalion-Ibra, either.

I received your news with joy that could only be greater if your mother were alive to share it. We only ever hoped that you would one day marry a man who would give you a home and happiness, so if Lord dy Cazaril can give you both, he has my full blessing, whether he is Chancellor or the lowest servant in the Provincara's kitchen. Though now I rather regret not finding him a place here, so that I might keep you and my grandchildren close to me.

Always your  
Papa

P.S. Perhaps Lord dy Cazaril is no Behar, but he quite rightly describes the relation of the heavenly lights to your smile.  
~*~

My dear Lord dy Cazaril,

It is my understanding that congratulations are in order for your impending nuptials. Betriz is a lovely girl, which I am sure you know, though I am less sure you know she is exactly the girl for you. She will make you young again, though I also understand that your recent loss of beard has made her work in that regard rather less arduous.

I trust that you will pass the days between now and your wedding writing a great deal of very bad poetry, such as such lovely young ladies inspire. Because the Chancellery, as your predecessor taught us, has nothing else to occupy his time.

May the gods bless you as richly as you have blessed my granddaughter's kingdom.

Your devoted friend,  
The Provincara  
~*~

Lord Chancellor dy Cazaril,

Your letter is well-received by a father who finds himself a little bereft of tradition. By your own merit you have proved yourself a worthy man, despite circumstance, and who am I to argue against the combined forces of a daughter's assertions of happiness and the Royina's royal decree? Not because I have lofty political aspirations shall I be proud to call you son, and I can think of no man on whom I would more readily bestow my blessing.

Respectfully,  
Ser dy Ferrej

P.S. Chancellor of Chalion-Ibra though you may be, dy Cazaril, if I see her unhappy, I will personally kill you.

  
[](http://chalion-ibra.livejournal.com/tag/writer%3A%20mrstater)   


**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Who Gives This Woman](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5775439) by [marianas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marianas/pseuds/marianas)




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